Way back when we first heard the news about Flickr's new TOS. And the fact that Free Members would not be allowed to use it to share their Porn, NSFW, or Adult Imagery. I Blogged that we'd look into the best alternatives. Give them a trial. And then officially endorse those that worked out.
I can say this has been hard work. A lot of headaches too. But i really wanted to ensure those members who could not, or did not want to 'Go Pro' at Flickr still felt equally involved. You are just as much a Pornstar on Sunday as anybody else. I'll always do all i can to ensure there are just 'Pornstars' not two classes of them. I'm convinced venturing out in to Twitter, or Blog Creating, or gaining the new audience at any of these places will lead to exciting things for us all. Some Flickr Pro members too would be advised to give them a go also. Don't miss out! And also stay close to your Pornstar friends who can't be around the Flickr scene.
I can say this has been hard work. A lot of headaches too. But i really wanted to ensure those members who could not, or did not want to 'Go Pro' at Flickr still felt equally involved. You are just as much a Pornstar on Sunday as anybody else. I'll always do all i can to ensure there are just 'Pornstars' not two classes of them. I'm convinced venturing out in to Twitter, or Blog Creating, or gaining the new audience at any of these places will lead to exciting things for us all. Some Flickr Pro members too would be advised to give them a go also. Don't miss out! And also stay close to your Pornstar friends who can't be around the Flickr scene.
As of now i can say i am 100% delighted to present these great alternatives to Flickr ( I have to also give an honorable mention to New Tumbl it allows sharing of all types of porn from our members. And i know some Sexiest Pornstars are on there right now. It was pipped to the post here by Slushe as a comparable, but better option in my opinion. If for whatever reason you dislike the sites here. It is worth checking out. )
DeviantArt - Great For H.A.M - T.T - Mild Sex -Erotic Portraits - & The Brand New Sexiest Group! ( Be Aware Of Their TOS. )
DeviantArt still wants to put its 'Explicit' Porn/content behind a paywall. But staying inside their TOS still allows us to operate a 'Sexiest Pornstars Group' there. It's perfect for H.A.M or T.T Gallery-type stuff. Also for Erotic Portraits, nudity, and milder sexual scenes. There is a huge amount of scope for the vast majority of Erotica produced in our group. Inside their TOS. The Sexiest Group at DA Is up and running and growing every day. Providing many Sexiest Pornstars Members with a service they feared they'd lost at Flickr. And a new venue for Ali our Blog Editor to gather content for this blog. We were determined that excluding members from participating in the Blog/Sexiest Photo group just because they are unable to 'Go Pro' at Flickr was unacceptable.
The very reason I have promoted and pushed DeviantArt is not because it's the ideal solution. But it has the ability to host a Sexiest 'Flickr Style' Group. Once I found DeviantArt allowed Group Creation, and NSFW Erotic images compatible with our Blog Galleries here I joined and checked the place out for over a month to this point. I feel its important to have that community and continuity. Yes there are web sites that allow all manner of explicit material. But they lack the social side we had at Flickr. Or they frown on 'Non RL' pictures. Like Flickr, DeviantArt has Likes, comments, the ability to create your own groups, and to give awards etc which is even more imaginative at DeviantArt too! They are also extremely welcoming towards Second Life Imagery. For those reasons, i have championed DeviantArt. The Second Life Sexiest Group, this Blog, and the Sexiest Flickr Group are intertwined and essential to our Pornstar Experience. I hope the new Sexiest Group there goes from strength to strength. Although I urge Pornstars to run their DeviantArt side of things alongside other options you'll see below.
Warning - DeviantArt's TOS.
Having been at DeviantArt over a Month now. I've seen unbelievably explicit Real Life Images, Anime, and other Art forms. My personal opinion is their TOS rules exist to put a cap on too much Real Life Porn, and they will go after that before looking closely at Second Life content. However, graphic sexual scenes, insertions, penetrations, masturbation, erections, bodily fluids etc are all technically not allowed to be shown on free accounts. Even though you will see it all over the place you have to be aware if you upload it it could be removed. You, as a DA user have to decide if your uploads are too 'graphic/explicit'. Keeping in mind that stuff likely way worse than we're ever going to produce is hosted there by other free users. We will just have to test the water and see what's acceptable, ignored, or overlooked in the genre of Second Life Porn. It remains to be seen how thoroughly they police these rules. Or if they do indeed turn a blind eye more to non RL rule breaches.
Twitter - #TheSexiestPornstarsSL
Many Pornstars I've spoken to in recent times believe one good thing that can come out of the whole Flickr Gate thing. This is us adapting and evolving as a result. Some wonderful alternatives for free Flickr members have emerged. But it's also been apparent that we should never let ourselves be caught in this position again! With just one platform holding so much sway over our scene. Personally I'm excited about branching out. And reaching a new audience, and doing new things. I have probably been guilty of being stuck in a rut on Flickr, chasing likes more than thinking outside boxes and exploring other options. Aside from my Personal Blogs.
One platform in particular, is extremely Porn Friendly. Twitter is 'The New World' for Second Life Pornstars. The Undiscovered Country! Twitter is home to the world's top real life Porn Stars. And there is absolutely no reason it cannot be a great home for us. Sharing Video Clips on Twitter is a superb way to promote your latest movies, and the same goes for Photo sharing. 'Tweets' sending your followers and fellow Pornstars to wherever your main body of work is hosted are easy and easily accessible. Of course, there are no 'Groups' on Twitter yet. Unlike Flickr and our Sexiest Pornstars group. You will be building your own network. But there is a way to keep us all together as a community. Especially if you use...
This Hash Tag...
#TheSexiestPornstarsSL
This Hash Tag allows you to post Porn Content into an Official Sexiest® Pornstars pool of Porn on Twitter. Easily searchable by entering the #TheSexiestPornstarsSL into a Twitter search. Displaying everybody's Tweets within our community. Wouldn't it also be cool to tag in some of your favorite real-world Porn Stars on your Porn Tweets? Getting a like from your idols is so cool. As with DeviantArt also, it's so good and satisfying to expand things and bring Second Life Pornstars' work to a wider audience.
Twitter is absolutely perfect for The Sexiest Pornstars Group to operate on. And it doesn't matter if you're at home, in-world, or out and about on your mobile device. You can still feel connected to our Porn scene.
The great thing is the Twitter Algorithm constantly suggests new people to follow who may be interested in you and the Second Life Porn scene. The more you put into your Twitter life the more you'll get out of it. If you can update regularly you'll see things gather pace really quickly. Who knows you could be Second Life Porn's first Social media Influencer! ( All thanks to somebody making a dumb choice at Flickr! )
Other huge plus points for Twitter are. There are no restrictions on how much or the explicit nature of what you upload. As long as it's all identified as 'NSFW'.
Slushe - The 'Almost Perfect' New Kid On The Block!
Talk about a making a last minute dash to win the race! Slushe could well be the most perfect Free Flickr Alternative out there. It's only a 'Beta' right now. But fully functioning as a great place to share and host all your Porn. Mild and Explicit! There are lots of Sexiest Pornstars on there already too.
I'm pretty new to it. But i'm very impressed. So expect this section to be updated a few times as i learn more. So far the lack of 'Group Making' would hold me back from promoting this ahead of DeviantArt completely. The ability for DA to host our Free Sexiest Group is a huge, huge plus we can't walk away from right now. But in every other way Slushe is perfect. Great interface, bio's, and the ability to connect up all your other social media and hosting outlets. Which is very important right now with many peoples work spread out and no longer under the one Flickr Umbrella. You can link to your Personal Blogs, Studio Blogs, DeviantArt, Twitter and many others through your profile. The ability to upload and share video clips too as well as a great looking Photo Share is vital for a long term host for a Second Life Porn Star.
The excellent Search Engine on Slushe will also enable us to use the Twitter Hash Tag #TheSexiestPornstarsSL. Which can off set a little the fact there is no community Group for us. I hope this changes as the Slushe Beta progresses.
Slushe + DeviantArt = The Closest Thing To The Complete Flickr Experience You Knew Before.
If you want my advice. Go and make an account right now. This is 'The Best' host for your work post Free Flickr. But remember if you want to still feel that community feeling you had at Flickr. Then run this site along side DeviantArt, and continue to also add to the Sexiest Pornstars Group there and enjoy the great interactions DeviantArt allows with fellow Pornstars and a new DA fanbase. Between the two sites you can 'almost' get the complete Flickr experience just like the good old days before the ban!
Both sites have pros and cons that kind of cancel each other out. Slushe allows the explicit, while DA lets us keep the Sexiest Group alive and well for our Non Flickr Pro Members.
Personal Blogs/Blogger - Control Your Own Pornstar Destiny And Content!
This is something many have used on the scene since forever. You're reading one right now. I'm talking about your own personal blog! Which puts a tremendous amount of freedom into your own hands, and allows you to really sell your own brand. Let's face it no self-respecting real-world Porn Star is without their own Web Site. The Sexiest Pornstars should be no different. I co-own this one with Emmanuelle, I also have my own personal Blog, Extreme Serenity and one for my Studio Porn Dolls too.
You can find the most suitable one for you. Wyx, and Word Press offer a very professional finished look. I have always gone with Blogger, for ease of use, and user-friendly creation. Many of us have a Google Account which means we can simply just go in and start a Blogger Blog ( Like this one. ) from your Google Apps right away!
You can then promote your blog, and posts in our Sexiest Pornstars Group via our Notices. Even when we settle on, and adopt a site to replace Flickr for our "Flickr Free Members" a Blog will still be important. You have total control over that space. You can also send me a NC in-world, or catch me in-world and send me your Blog URL. ( Warning - My IM's are always capped. So If I'm offline, please send NC. x ) I'll be happy to add it to The Sexiest Pornstars Blog side bar right here.
Getting Around Explicit Restrictions And Promoting Your Hard Core Porn!
If a hosting site such as DeviantArt has some restrictions on Hard Core Porn in their TOS. I'm suggesting those members wishing to release more explicit Porn upload a milder "Promo Image" to DeviantArt for example, and then link to your own personal Blog in the image description. For the more explicit content. You can even go and make a "Safe" promotional image for your "Explicit" Blog Post and upload it to Flickr too, without breaking their new rules. And link to your blog in the Flickr Image Description too.
Pornstars with Blogs have always had a certain image on our scene. Many of our top stars present and past have one. I would urge you to take control of your own Sexiest Pornstars destiny and own one too! We have over 3,000 members in our group for you to promote at. Yet again I have to say it. There is life after Flickr!
Serenity x ( @SerenityKristan )
